A variety of inflated cushions are well known and used for sundry packaging applications. For example, inflated cushions are often used as void-fill packaging in a manner similar to or in place of foam peanuts, crumbled paper, and similar products. Also for example, inflated cushions are often used as protective packaging in place of molded or extruded packaging components.
Generally, inflated cushions are formed from films having two layers that are joined together by seals. The seals can be formed simultaneously with inflation, so as to capture air therein, or prior to inflation to define a film configuration having inflatable chambers. The inflatable chambers can be inflated with air or another gas and thereafter sealed to inhibit or prevent release of the air or gas.
Such film configurations can be stored in rolls or fan-folded boxes in which adjacent inflatable cushions are separated from each other by perforations. During use, a film configuration is inflated to form cushions, and adjacent cushions or adjacent strands of cushions are separated from each other along the perforations.
A variety of film configurations are currently available. Many of these film configurations include seal configurations that tend to waste material, inhibit separation of adjacent inflated cushions, and/or form inflated cushions that are susceptible to under-inflation or leakage, thereby inhibiting utility.